The Wabash County Historical Museum has announced that they will be taking a brief hiatus in January to update, clean and perform some minor maintenance within their facility.

“With more than 25,000 artifacts in our collection and a 20,000 square foot facility to maintain, we need to take a few weeks to focus our attention on some internal needs,” explained Mitch Figert, Executive Director of the museum.

Beginning Jan. 13 through the remainder of the month the museum’s collections and exhibits will be open by appointment only. During this period the museum’s staff members and volunteers will address a long list of projects that range from cleaning and repairing exhibits, installing new collections, performing minor repairs on the facility, and updating many of the exhibit areas.

During this period the archives, which are housed within the museum, will be open during their normal hours of Tuesday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The museum’s store will also be open during these hours. A few special events will continue to take place during this break including the Wabash County Historical Society meeting on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m., and the museum’s History Hunters program on Jan. 23 at noon featuring Clyde Lovellette.

“We are working to minimize the impact of this closure with our partners, members, and the public,” said Figert.

Anyone wanting to make special arrangements to visit the museum or rent the facility during their hiatus should contact Mitch Figert at 260-563-9070 or director@wabashmuseum.org.

The museum will reopen on Tuesday, Feb. 4 and they will resume their normal operating hours of Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We have been blessed by a supportive and generous community that has helped to make us one of the best county museums in the state,” Figert shared. “We are excited to update and expand our current exhibits and look forward to sharing a few new surprises when we re-open on Feb. 4.”